Fade
by Ellarie Soulhart
Summary: "I wish we never met you!" He said and walked away. However, he didn't know the extent of what he did. R


**A/N:** I really had the sudden urge to write this one-shot while I am completing my next updates for The Rainbow's Guidance. *sighs* I'm such a horrible writer.

**DISCLAIMER:** All rights are reserved for Amano Akira and eventual plot, additional settings and characters are solely produced by **Ellarie Soulhart**. Should there be any duplications of this story will have an equivalent sanction to be deliberated with the team.

* * *

**FADE**

© Ellarie Soulhart

October 2013

* * *

Tsuna was in utter confusion and he simply didn't know why.

In front of him were his guardians, even Hibari and Mukuro who couldn't stand being in the same light, and were staring at him like a hawk for thirty minutes already. He was sure that everything started with a good morning but now, it was as if something horrible had happened. For the past thirty minutes, all the guardians did were to stare at their boss. They were in a circular formation enough to pin Tsuna down with their heated gazes. They were here for a sole purpose: ask Tsunayoshi. But they couldn't get the right words to say, thus the staring contest lingered.

Tsuna sighed. It's almost the ringing of the first bell in the morning and if they stay here any longer, they will all be late for classes. Although he might not worry for being bitten to death since Hibari was with them as of the moment, and he had the most ferocious look among his guardians right now. He was getting tired of waiting though, so he initiated the conversation,

"Why are we having a meeting here? Did something happen?"

No one answered, making Tsuna raise an eyebrow for this surprising collaborative silence. However, his Hyper Intuition told him that something was really wrong and he couldn't help but be nervous on what's going to happen next. When Tsuna was about to speak again, Gokudera raised his right hand and motioned it in front of his Juudaime's face to tell him not to speak.

"Why, Juudaime?" Gokudera asked in a sad tone. His right hand clenched in front of Tsuna, making the young boss wonder in worry. Then he continued, "All this time…Juudaime…"

"Gokudera-kun…?" Tsuna called out carefully, his eyebrows creased in confusion. "What are you trying to say?"

This made the storm guardian snap and exclaimed, "DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW, TSUNAYOSHI!" His both hands were resting at his side and trembling in anger. "You…I thought we could trust you…but it the end, we're all played by you!"

Tsuna looked at Gokudera then to the others as well, not clearly understanding what was going on. What's more, he was surprised that Gokudera used his first name instead of the usual 'Juudaime' nickname. "I don't understand! What are you talking about, Gokudera-kun?"

This time, Yamamoto spoke, "Don't play dumb, Tsuna. We already knew what you really want."

Tsuna looked at Yamamoto with his mouth ajar, but even before he could answer, Ryohei spoke,

"You extremely took away our lives, Sawada!" Then Ryohei grabbed Tsuna by his collar, "You included all extreme innocent people in your dangerous mafia family! Have you no extreme conscience!?"

Tsuna struggled from Ryohei's hold, "O-Onii-san…Sto—AGH!" he screamed as Ryohei punched him and eventually he collided at the wall behind them.

"Don't call me onii-san, Sawada, because I extremely don't have a brother like you." Then he left the rooftop.

Hibari spoke next as soon as he collided his tonfa at Tsuna's stomach, "You have included a lot of unwanted herbivores, Sawada Tsunayoshi." He then lifted Tsuna;s chin with his other tonfa and continued, "Relentlessly ordering my subordinates and taking over Namimori is simply unforgivable." Then kicked him and left.

Tsuna hacked and looked up. So there's Mukuro, Lambo, Gokudera and Yamamoto left. He sat and said, "I don't…know…what you guys are…talking about…"

Lambo was in tears and shouted, "Dame-Tsuna is the worst! You bombed Bovino! How could you?!" then the little lightning guardian left as well, crying.

"Don't you get it, Tsuna?" Yamamoto spoke next, his fists clenching, "Because of you, a lot has suffered. If not for your family, that…that VONGOLA, things will be the same." Then he turned around and continued, "If I didn't follow you, I would have still continued playing baseball. I would have risen as the best player of Namimori." Then he turned his head and gave his hardest glare, "If not for you, oyaji will not be in the hospital." Then he left the rooftop as well.

Tsuna's head was starting to ache. He couldn't understand what was going on. But what hurt most was the fact that everything was his fault. If he was not connected to mafia, then everything would have been normal. He didn't have to have guardians to protect him and they didn't have to sacrifice anything. Ever since Vongola was glued to his name, a lot of catastrophes happened and even though it was not generally his fault, but because he was known as the heir of the Vongola throne, it will be his fault.

He was the sky that accepts everything, even though the fault of others.

Gokudera walked to Tsuna and stopped, then he landed a fist on Tsuna's left cheek and said, "I was wrong to follow you. I thought that when I did, my life will be a lot peaceful. But what? You gave me this troublesome life. Your stupid Vongola almost waged a war with my family. And…and Aneki…she has to do mend things…and now she ended up in the hospital as well." Gokudera seethed and glared at Tsuna, making the young boss cringe, "I hate you, Sawada. I wish you were never the boss. I wish we never met you!" Then he ran away, leaving Mukuro with Tsuna.

Mukuro didn't speak and watched the whole scene unfold instead. Generally, he should be happy that these things had been happening. After all, destroying families was his initial motive. But ever since he joined Vongola, he never felt that he was never part of it, and Tsunayoshi always worried about him. He could see all of those emotions through Chrome. As he watched, he was amused by how the other guardians threw their anger at Tsunayoshi, however, he could feel that there was something more to these angry confessions. He looked around and the rooftop was peacefully silent, then he focused on Tsunayoshi and saw him sitting. He could see the flash of confused feeling in those watery eyes. He walked towards him and stopped a foot away, looking down and said,

"Tsunayoshi. You're an eyesore."

Tsuna looked up at Mukuro and it made Mukuro's eyes widened a fraction. The young sky chuckled sadly and said, "I am always an eyesore, right, Mukuro?" Then he stood and wobbled a little, then he looked at the mist guardian and smiled, "I guess…being dame really suits me. I never did anything right." Then his tears fell, not really caring anymore if he was in front of Mukuro or not, "But…I really don't understand…I don't. Maybe…maybe I really am better without them." Then he walked away.

Mukuro watched Tsunayoshi go. He shouldn't really be concerned but he was wary of what Tsunayoshi's eyes projected earlier. Scowling, he disappeared in mist.

* * *

Tsuna walked home without his friends beside him. Surprisingly, Haru was not around too, but it didn't matter anymore. His eyes were red from crying. He didn't talk to anyone in his classroom since it was pointless and just prayed that time would go faster. He endured another day of insults from his classmates but he was a bit grateful that Yamamoto and Gokudera made no reactions. He sighed and wiped the tears that were threatening to fall down before going inside his house. He couldn't let his mother see his tears, moreover, the severed ties between him and his friends. Most of all, he didn't want his mother to see the blood that he wiped with his favorite handkerchief.

As the door closed, a soft laughter echoed outside, watching with amused eyes before disappearing.

* * *

Two weeks had passed and the 10th generation of Vongola was in disarray. This had already reached the mafia community and a lot of Tsuna's friends became worried of the situation. Nono was very concerned and he ordered three intelligence agents to find out what was happening. When the agents returned, Nono had only learned that it was a teenager fight between them and Tsuna was apparently being pointed as the culprit. Nono was suspicious of this because his grandson's friends wouldn't just blame Tsuna like that.

In Namimori, the 2-A class was in their usual noisy routine. The girls continued on chattering and squealing as they look at Gokudera and Yamamoto while the guys were either jealous of Yamamoto or angry at Gokudera for his cockiness and heritage so he was getting all the attention from the girls. Yamamoto was back in his usual cheery self and talked with some of the guys in the classroom about the incoming baseball tournament which he was included. Gokudera, on the other hand, was brooding as he ignored the talking girls behind him and tried his best to read his Chemistry book in silence. Everything was fine, until two girls behind him talked about someone who was a taboo as of the moment.

"Dame-Tsuna has been absent for two weeks already." The girl with a short hair said.

The girl with black, long hair nodded, "Well, what's new? He's a dame, it's only better if he stays at home and cleans their toilet every day."

The girls chuckled. "But seriously, even though Dame-Tsuna is dame, he is not usually absent."

The chattering went on and the Yamamoto and Gokudera couldn't help but eavesdrop. They shouldn't be concerned with that Sawada anymore, but they couldn't help it. After all, that Sawada still gave them some happiness when they were together. The baseball jock walked over to Gokudera and said," Did I hear it right, Gokudera?"

Gokudera huffed, "So what? As if Sawada is noticeable every time. He might be just causing rumors so that he could be talked."

"Now now, Gokudera," Yamamoto lightly chastised. "Even though Tsuna was like that, it was still unusual for him to be absent for too long."

"Che. I don't care."

Yamamoto was about to speak again when their teacher arrived. Apparently, the teacher had a grim expression on his face and the whole class decided to stay quiet. All of the students went to their respective seats and waited for their teacher to speak. The teacher looked at the class and his gaze ended up on the empty seat of Sawada Tsunayoshi, and sighed deeply.

"I received a news from the Principal today," The teacher started, "Sawada Tsunayoshi had withdrawn from school."

"EH?! DAME-TSUNA DID?!" The class chorused. Yamamoto and Gokudera shared the same widened eyes in shock.

"But why, sensei?" Kyoko asked. She knew that her brother and Tsuna-kun fought and she was saddened about it because her brother said that it was Tsuna-kun's fault. But then, she was still concerned about him.

The teacher exhaled and said, "His mother called the principal's office and said that she is withdrawing her son from school. It is because Sawada Tsunayoshi was admitted to the hospital nine days ago and he was declared in comatose."

The whole class was in silence. Even though they always jeered and insulted him names, they never thought Sawada Tsunayoshi to end up this way. Several speculations wandered in their heads: kidnapped and brutally beaten, or he got into a road accident, or fell to a cliff, or a disease that they never heard of. Yamamoto and Gokudera looked at each other, then to their sky's seat, and back to each other. They nodded and stood, grabbing their things and decided to go to Tsuna's house, ignoring the shouts of the teacher, "O-Oi! Yamamoto! Gokudera! Come back here!"

Sooner that day, the news spread like wild fire and it reached the ears of Ryohei and Hibari. They only did what they need to do: go to Sawada's house.

* * *

The white room was eerily quiet except for the dreadful sounds of the heart monitor and the respirator. Tubes were neatly attached to the body that was lying on the soft hospital bed and was covered with blankets. A rose petal fell onto the bedside table as one great heave of breath escaped from pale lips. A soft sob was heard afterwards, which belonged to Sawada Nana, Tsuna's loving mother.

Tsuna was the one lying on the bed, his body was pale and unmoving, and he appeared shorter than he was. His arms were filled with intravenous tubes that supplied him dextrose and other antibiotics. His face was serene and even though he was sick, his closed eyes seemed to be smiling. But what was heartbreaking was the fact he was on respirator and that he was confirmed on comatose.

Nana couldn't help but cry. A thousand thoughts kept on swarming inside her head but only one question lingered: Why her Tsuna? Even though Tsuna had a lot of shortcomings, she could proudly say that her child was the most adorable. Tsuna was a great son to her since her little Tuna always made her smile, and she could see the determination her son was doing to become a better person. She gently held her son's hand, praying silently for his recovery when she knew that—

"Okaa-sama!" Gokudera burst out as he opened the door. He was about to shout again when a fist collided on his head and turned around angrily, "Oi, lawn-head! Why did you do that for?!"

Ryohei smacked his head again and said in a very surprisingly soft voice, "We're in a hospital, aho."

Gokudera immediately shut up and looked down. When they didn't receive any word from Nana, they slowly and quietly entered the room.

And shock followed afterwards.

They were surprised to see how fragile Tsuna was. He was really pale and the noise that was coming from the respirator and the heart monitor were the only proofs that he was still alive. Yes, they might had prepared themselves from breaking ties with Tsuna and returning to their normal, quiet lives; but they were never, and would never be prepared to see him like this.

Yamamoto took the courage to ask Nana, "Sawada-san, what happened to Tsuna?"

Nana looked up to Yamamoto and wiped her tears. She looked at the other people in the room and was surprised that they were complete except from Lambo whom she kept at home with I-Pin and Fuuta. Then she said in a soft tone, "Tsu-kun nearly died." Then she looked at him and her tears couldn't help but fall, "His body became weird since after the day he went home with red eyes. He never realized that I knew he cried that day,"

'_Became…weird?' _The guardians thought. So it was their fault that his body became like this? But all they did was punch him. They didn't reply and continued listening to Nana.

"After a few days, he told me that you guys fought and he didn't understand why. He was still able to go to school that day. But then, when he came home and went straight ahead to his room, I felt something was wrong." Then she sobbed again and Yamamoto held her shoulder for comfort. "I should have walked inside his room that night…I could have prevented it from happening."

Gokudera's eyes went wide and walked to Nana. He crouched down and asked, "W-What happened to Tsu – I mean Juudaime? Was he attacked?"

Nana shook her head, "No. There was no sign of forced entry or whatsoever. B-but…I didn't know he was sick."

"Sick?" Hibari muttered.

Nana nodded again, "Yes. When I went to his room the next morning, I saw his eyes opened wide and white. He was deathly pale and his…his mouth was foaming with blood." She explained painfully, bringing the other visitors to shock as they heard what happened. Then Nana lifted Tsuna's arm and removed the cloth cover, revealing odd, red marks, "This mark is all over his body, but most of it were on his chest. The doctor said that it has affected his lungs and heart that is why he was on a respirator now."

The guardians walked closer to look at the marks and paled. Those are like bug bites of some sorts, but probably because of the poison that the bug carried, it spread out like dark red, thick hives. They looked at Nana for an explanation.

"The doctor said that Tsu-kun was infected by some unknown virus and was indeed lethal. They were able to inject strong antibiotics to kill the virus but it was not enough. Eventually, it had attacked his respiratory system and his senses." Nana said, still crying, "They also said that it's only a matter of time before the virus attack the nervous system and if it did, T-Tsu-kun will die in less than three months."

Gokudera couldn't believe this was happening. Actually, no one would. He looked at his other co-guardians and they share the same expression that he was currently wearing right now (even Hibari). He looked at his Juudaime and tears couldn't help but fall. He held Juudaime's body and muttered,

"I'm sorry…"

Just then, the door opened, and the guardians felt an ominous aura permeating in the air. They looked towards the door and saw a glaring Reborn.

Reborn jumped and landed on each and every one of them, kicking the sides of their heads before landing on Nana's lap. The hit man quickly brought out a vial and opened it, bringing it close to Nana's nose. When the scent was inhaled, Nana immediately fell asleep and Reborn carefully laid the head on Tsuna's bed. Then, he returned his gaze towards the guardians and said,

"Who?"

* * *

Mukuro hummed as he stared at the white paper with valuable information on it. _'So she's the one…'_ he thought. For some reason he couldn't understand, he agreed working with Reborn in secret for some emergency, and this emergency included Sawada Tsunayoshi's safety. He scowled. There was no way he'd let a low life like this girl take Tsunayoshi.

Apparently, a high-leveled illusionist appeared in the outskirts of Italy and began her expedition of controlling the minds of the Mafiosi without difficulty. Her reasons were unknown but the entire community of Mafia was sure enough that this illusionist was targeting strong bosses, and that included Vongola's Decimo. However, shortly after the leak of information, the mysterious illusionist disappeared and later on, one ally yakuza family in Japan reported that the illusionist had been spotted within the grounds of Namimori. Of course, Reborn acted on it, but he really wasn't able to prevent the plan that the illusionist executed.

Mukuro snorted. "Strongest Arcobaleno, huh? Yet your beloved Tsunayoshi is on his death bed." He murmured. He then recalled the past events that Reborn told him a few days ago:

_**Reborn was casually doing his rounds to check if there was any sign of the illusionist that he heard from Nono, but then the sun was setting and it would be unwise for him to continue in the dark. When he returned to Tsuna's room, he noticed weird movements coming from Tsuna, but he couldn't really see what was happening since the young boss was wrapped in blanket. He decided to ignore it and went down for dinner. After that, he immediately went straight to bed and fell asleep. It would be pointless to wake the brat up and interview him with what happened between him and the guardians.**_

_**Then morning came and Reborn had to snap up from his sleep when he heard a woman's shriek. When he sat, his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tsuna was practically convulsing and his mouth was foaming with red, meaning blood was mixed in. He cursed. He was wondering what Tsuna had been doing. And at that time, the moment Nana lifted Tsuna's shirt and saw the large hives scattered on his body, he saw a particular bruise right above where his heart was positioned. It was reddish-purple in color and its symbol was swirled like a maple leaf. At the base of the stem was a prick of a needle that could only be seen by well-trained eyes. He cursed.**_

_**Tsuna had been targeted before he knew it.**_

_**And so, he tried calming Nana down and called an ambulance to take Tsuna to the hospital. Once they were gone, he dialed Chrome's number and said, "Chrome, I need to talk to Mukuro, fast. I'll meet you there at Kokuyo." When Chrome affirmed, Reborn immediately closed his Leon-phone and went down to business.**_

Mukuro sighed. This illusionist was not to be underestimated. "I don't like this, but I must cooperate for that Vongola…" he muttered and left his turf to gain more information.

* * *

The whole room was silent, so silent that death could easily drop in and take every soul present. Apparently, that death was no other than Reborn who had been firing bullets at the guardians. Eventually, his anger died and he was forcing some answers from the brats.

"You people should really be careful of what you wish for." Reborn said irritably, "That could get someone killed."

"What do you mean, kozo?" Yamamoto asked.

Reborn had already informed the guardians about the arrival of this illusionist and that her main targets were mafia, triads, and yakuza leaders, but they still didn't know what Tsuna's real condition was. With the help of Mukuro, he was able to gather information and so here he was to know who set the trigger. "First of all, what did you tell Tsuna when you guys fought?"

"Does that matter, akambo?" Hibari asked equally irritable. "I couldn't find any sense to whatever happened to Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Reborn fired a bullet at Hibari, "Answer me." He said in a controlled voice.

Ryohei started, "I told him that he included innocent people and that he extremely took away our happy lives."

Hibari then spoke next, "I merely told him about his nuisance and bossing around Namimori."

"I…I told him that he took away my baseball life…" Yamamoto said in a remorseful tone.

And for Gokudera, he closed his eyes in guilt and said in an equally sorry tone, "I…I told him that he broke our trust. That I should have not followed him."

Reborn all looked at them and seethed. Their answers were not enough to trigger that spell, "Did anyone of you made an ill-wish?"

They shook their heads. Why would they wish for something that could result to this? Then they all looked at Tsuna whose breathing was shallow. They all felt remorse for what they did, especially for not being there with him when he needed them the most. They were the worst ones, not Tsunayoshi, because even though they scorned him, Tsunayoshi never fought back that day.

Then Gokudera's eyes widened when he recalled the past events, making Reborn look at him and point his gun at his forehead. His lips were quivering and his body shook in fear.

"Oi, speak up, Gokudera." Reborn said and cocks the gun, "I know you know something."

Gokudera said, guilt eating him up, "I…I told…Juudaime…I…wished that…we would have not…met him.."

"Kuso." Reborn cursed aloud and shot the innocent vase across the room. He grabbed Gokudera's collar and slapped him, "You really didn't know what you did." He said.

And everything clicked into place.

"That…was the trigger?" Yamamoto asked.

"B-but, even though an extreme illusionist…that wouldn't have…" Ryohei shakily said.

"Idiota. That illusionist specializes in people's feelings and memories." Reborn explained and kicked Gokudera. The storm guardian skidded across the room. Then he looked at Hibari, "Hibari, I'm ordering you right now to gather your contacts and help me find information. And as for you three," he said and turned to Ryohei, Yamamoto and Gokudera who was now sitting, "I need you to monitor Tsuna. Gokudera, you'll be in-charge of reporting to me his condition. Am I making myself clear?"

"Akambo. I don't take orders from anyone." Hibari said and put out his tonfas. "But I could make an exception if you defeat me."

Reborn looked at Hibari and said, "That would have to wait. Now, follow my orders or I will shoot you in the head." Then he leapt away.

All they could do was to stare at each other.

* * *

Several days later and Tsuna's condition was worsening. He was being administered with several strong medicines to reduce the virus that was into his body. Nana was crying and the assigned bodyguards namely Ryohei, Yamamoto and Gokudera were left to comfort her while they hold in their own sorrow. Unfortunately, Tsuna has less than two months to live. They advised Nana to go home for a while and thankfully they were obeyed. Once Nana's gone, they're own tears fell in tremendous grief and guilt. They were played by their own emotions without thinking Tsuna's position as the next boss of Vongola, that what he was into was a lot dangerous and burdening to his part rather than theirs.

However, their grieving time was cut short when mist formed inside the room and a girl appeared in front of them. The guardians immediately took their defensive positions as they listened to the girl's maniacal laugh.

"Such an easy target." The girl said, twirling her fan as she looked pass the barricade, "Tsuna-kun is such a lovely sight to see right now, isn't he~?"

"Kono yaro!" Gokudera shouted and prepared his bombs, "What did you do to Juudaime?!"

"Are you the one who put him into a spell?!" Yamamoto seconded.

"Why must you extremely do this?!" Ryohei asked, raising his bandaged fists, "What did Sawada extremely do to you?!"

"Oh? Valiant knights eh?" The girl muttered amusingly. She stopped floating and walked two steps forward and smiled, "I just feel like it. Besides, I'm only fulfilling someone else's wish~" Then she looked at Gokudera with an accusing smile, "Didn't you wish for your boss that he shouldn't have met you? There, I'm granting your wish."

Gokudera's eyes widened and he slumped to the ground. Yamamoto and Ryohei kept close just in case.

"He wouldn't have known that!" Yamamoto exclaimed, wielding his sword, "Plus, it's your entire fault that Tsuna became like this. You put a spell on him!"

The girl laughed evilly, "Oh~ that's just a wonderful technique. Sadly, you can't reverse that unless you do something equal to that." Then mists began forming again and she said, "Oh well, I just checked on my next doll. I can't wait to have him~ my Tsunayoshi-koi~" then she disappeared.

Ryohei and Yamamoto relaxed and immediately crouched down to attend to Gokudera's shaken form. The storm guardian was beyond shock since he was the one who triggered his Juudaime's death. Yamamoto punched him then and grabbed him by the collar, "SNAP OUT OF IT, GOKUDERA!" he exclaimed, "WE'LL SAVE TSUNA, OKAY! AND IT'S NOT ONLY YOUR FAULT! IT'S OUR FAULT! WE BROUGHT HIM IN THIS SITUATION!"

"Yamamoto…" Gokudera muttered and looked down, his tears falling.

Ryohei and Yamamoto rubbed their hands on Gokudera's back for comfort.

* * *

**A/N: **Saa, I'm leaving it like this, minna. Hahaha. This is only a one-shot and an introduction to my upcoming story, although I don't know when since I still have to do my other fiction, The Rainbow's Guidance. So yeah. Leave some reviews, 'kay? :D


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